Friday 21 February 2014

Hunger and Food Cravings, what do they mean?


Have you ever come home from a bad day and dived head first into your fridge? Or had an argument and found yourself turning to food? Its a reality that plagues many of us and a habit that has formed in me since I was a little girl and when I was down or feeling sad my Mum would get me ice cream or chocolate and of course that made me feel better at the time. I don't blame her for that because she was doing what she thought was best and she didn't know that it would become a habit that continued long into adulthood. She still does it with my nieces if they fall over or feel sad she offers them food, but it what her Mum did and her Grandma before that. I think its sort of passed down from generations and I am trying to break the cycle with my daughter as I don't want her to end up an obese adult like me and hating herself. Just to add, I don't hate myself any more, because I am breaking that cycle.

What's the difference?

Emotional hunger comes on all of a sudden.
Physical hunger comes on gradually.
Emotional hunger feels like it needs to be satisfied RIGHT NOW!
Physical hunger can wait until you have time to eat.
Emotional hunger craves comfort foods, ice cream, chocolate etc.
Physical hunger will be satisfied by any type of food, nothing specific.
Emotional hunger isn't satisfied when you are full, you will continue to eat.
Physical hunger stops when you've eaten enough and you are full.
Emotional eating triggers feelings of guilt, powerlessness, and makes you feel bad
about yourself.
Eating to satisfy physical hunger doesn't have an emotional response.
What do cravings mean?
When you are craving a specific thing what does your body actually want? For example, when you have a craving for chocolate, and can't get it out of your mind, it doesnt mean your body has a shortage of chocolate in its system. Below is a list of food cravings and a healthy alternative:



Wednesday 19 February 2014

So many diets, so little time....

I was just writing my about me page and I thought I would do a little list, just for myself really, of all the diets I have been on in my life. Lets see...
  • Cambridge Weight Plan
  • Slimming World
  • Weight Watchers
  • Cabbage Soup Diet
  • Slim Fast
  • Low Carb
  • Slim and Save
  • Water only (dangerous!)
  • Vegan
  • Calorie Counting
  • Healthy Eating
  • Tesco Diets Online
I think thats all of them, and that is ALOT of diets, and guess what they ALL got me to successfully lose weight, but I didn't keep it off, some were really unhealthy, some were really good for me but all in all unless my heart was in it to start with, or as soon as I went back to my unhealthy eating habits the weight piled back on, and usually more besides. I do wonder if I had never dieted, would I still be the size I was when I did my first ever diet? 

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Weigh In Day: Week 1 of 12

As I explained, I am now back on Cambridge Weight Plan and I have been following the SS (Sole source) plan for a week. So its my first week on Cambridge but 10th week as far as weigh ins with my consultant, and since I only put on 1.25lbs since I saw her last I decided to count this week as week 10, but its really week 1. Does that make sense? I hope so! Anyway, down to the nitty gritty of what I lost this week....
-16 & 1/4lbs!
Yep! In one week I managed to lose over 1 stone! 1 stone 2 1/4lbs in fact. I was amazed, as was my consultant but its a great personal achievement and shows what being on slimming world, then 3 days off any diet, then straight on CWP and sticking to it does for your body. I think going from CWP to SW was a mistake for my body, its so high carb based and CWP is so low in carbs I think eating v low carb for 10 weeks then 3 weeks of high carb really contributed to this first week loss. Or week 10, lol!

In total as my pic shows I've now lost 64 1/4lbs and its in only 10 weeks, so im really happy with that. Im really on target for my goal for 3 months, I wanted to lose 4stone in 12 weeks, and Im already 1/4 of the way there. I may even get 5 stone off, who knows. Im prepared for a much smaller loss this week since that loss I had was huge! But onwards and inwards I go, towards my goal!

Friday 14 February 2014

We are just a Couple of Losers!

Since its Valentine's Day today, I thought I would share a couple of photos of my husband and me:


The top one is from our wedding day, 3/3/12. It was such a romantic and magical day that I will never forget. I was really happy and didn't care that my dress was a size 26 and I weighed around 25 STONE! But I didn't care one bit, because I was marrying my best friend *awww* lol!

The second one is from today, 14/2/14. We have now lost 9 stone since our wedding day between us (and gained a beautiful daughter!) using a combination of different methods to help us both lose weight and I am continuing on using the Cambridge Weight Plan to lose more and hubby is eating healthily. We are much healthier now and I would say happier in ourselves, you can really see the difference!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Monday 10 February 2014

Back to Cambridge!

Went to my Cambridge consultant today and I started again today, back on Cambridge now and happy about the switch. I had my new weigh in and I now weigh 20st 5 1/4lbs, so since I last went to her I have only put on 1 1/4lbs, so thats good. Really I have put a bit more than that on but that's ok, she would never know haha!

My goal is to stick to it 100% for 3 months and lose 4 stone. That will take me to 16st 5lbs so that would be brilliant. In an ideal world I would like to be in the 15st bracket but even if I dont get there I will be close. Im really looking forward to the results that I know I will get by sticking to Cambridge, so thats what I aim to do! I managed to stick to it properly last time so theres no reason why I wont be able to this time.

Not looking forward to the coldness, or the going to the loo every 5 seconds from all the water Im drinking! But its so worth it!

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Going back to what I know...

Today was my weigh in day, it was week 3 (weigh in 4) and by this stage doing a conventional diet I would expect at least to be 6lbs down, -2lbs a week. Maybe more considering you can usually expect a big loss of 4 or more pounds off in your first week. So after sticking to the diet, not cheating and hoping for at least 2lbs off, I stepped on the scales and.... put 1 1/2lbs on! GRRRRR! I was so angry, tearful, upset, confused, hopeless, hateful, resentful... so many emotions from a little number on a scale, from putting on weight. I sat down and was almost in tears as she started the group discussion and giving out awards and congratulating people on their losses this week. My turn came and she says "She's lost a total of 3lbs! Give her a clap." I just shook my head and a tear ran down my cheek. 


So I have made a decision to go back to the "Cambridge Weight Plan" for 3 months, starting Monday. I lost 5 stone using Cambridge, and I have now put 1 stone back on, so, instead of messing around and trying to focus and get SW to work I am going to take my face my FAT head on and send it on its way, never to be seen again! I stuck to Cambridge 100%, never cheated, never went off plan and in 12 weeks I lost 5 stone. If I can do that again, stick to it properly again, I want to lose 3 stone in the next 12 weeks and that will take me to a loss of 100lbs. Alot of people don't believe that Cambridge is healthy but it has been around for a long time, it is medically supported for continuous steady weight loss and I have been signed off by my doctor to say I am fit to do it. I am 19 stone 11lbs, its not like I have only a few stones to lose, I still have 7st 11lbs to lose and instead of it taking me 2 years (or more) to get to a healthy weight I can get there sooner, and it will add months, maybe years to my life.
I hope I will still get your support as I change diets for the next 3 months, but I will still be blogging about other things than just Cambridge as I have done with this blog. I will be continuing with slimming world after my next 3 months on cambridge to get to my goal and become a gold member.
Here's to my next 12 weeks!!

Monday 3 February 2014

Obesity: Disease or Addiction?


Im watching Weight Loss Ward on itv1, recorded on 21st January. I've always agreed with people who say that bariatric surgery for the obese is in fact saving the NHS money because people lose weight and then don't end up with heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and other complications of obesity. But I am now wondering if there is another cheaper way to treat obesity which would actually "cure" obesity and cost a lot less.

There is a lady on this tv programme who had a gastric band fitted and lost 17 stone! Later on the band slipped and she had to have it removed in emergency surgery, she then went on to put 10 stone back on, and is now having a gastric bypass operation. Doesn't this show you that yes she lost weight but she didnt learn anything about how to eat, her appetite or a healthy diet? Perhaps having trained and qualified councillors who are able to treat the underlying cause of overrating would be a better way to treat obese patients? Most people who overeat to excess have an underlying cause, an emotional reason for their "addiction" to food. If you were addicted to drugs or alcohol you would go to rehab, get councilling and hopefully find out why you abuse those substances. So where is the rehab for food addiction? Where are the people who look for the underlying reason we are abusing our bodies with food? I have a friend who works with addicts and helps them overcome their demons, I'm going to ask her if she thinks it would work for food addiction and obesity. I don't know what I could do to help others but I wish I could! Maybe if I can fix myself I can fix other people too. Watch this space!